Self Talk

This post was published on Global Policy Institute, London's website as a winner of students' voice in student think tank section on 17 August, 2011. A link to the original post is here . Many Middle Eastern regimes have fallen due to the recent surge in youth-driven movements for rights and democracy. This change, the so called Arab Spring, is propagating on its own terms. A recent law passed in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia for  punishing those who criticize the regime points to restlessness in one of the most conservative states of the world. It is increasingly clear that no regime is now secure from public protests spurred on by recent events. Pakistanis consider themselves to be very close to Middle East Arab nations, mainly due to their religious connection. In contrast to many Arab states, the Pakistani government has not been able to recognize Israel as a sovereign state due to the fear of public backlash. Such are the sentiments regarding Middle Eastern territ

Dengue fever has hit Pakistan hard this time. The virus has been there for a couple of years now but this year the number of casualties as well as morbidity has been far more than it was in previous years. The suspected cases report a rapid decline in platelets, the component of blood that helps it coagulate. In the absence or profound decrease of platelets, blood fails to maintain balance of coagulation and bleeding starts from all mucous membranes as well as any minor cuts and bruises on the body. Intestines, mouth and urinary bladder are frequent sites of bleeding. If not countered with an adequate measure, either by replacing platelets or by a therapy which increase their numbers, mortality occurs frequently. Cases have been reported in media and public where people have benefited from use of juice of papaya leaves. I came across such a story in The Express Tribune where a man has recounted his brush with the deadly virus and its consequences. I went on to search  PubMed

Dr Mirza’s sudden outburst in anger has taken everyone by surprise. Despite his previous outburst in media and public against some party policies, he was known as a close aide of president Zardari. Many believe that his loyalty may always be with his party, he has run out of patience by the policy of national reconciliation adopted by his party’s bosses in the center. Others still doubt any depth behind his allegations and think that his impulsive nature is being expertly exploited by the party administration, and knowingly or unknowingly he is playing the bad cop for them, providing them with space to bargain with their coalition partners in Karachi. Despite these different views amongst public and analysts, everyone has started to believe that he means some kind of business. His press conferences raise questio

Few days back one of my friends posted a video on my facebook page in which a person advertises his amazing disease healing skills. You can see a screen shot from the video on the right side. My friend posted this video thinking that I being a doctor am the most concerned person regarding the contents. Of course I am, but people living around healing facility of this gentleman are more concerned than me. And even more concerned, rather responsible are the authorities. I was practically shocked to see the video. A person who apparently can’t speak Urdu for more than few seconds, goes on to claim that he can treat any disease that a human being can come up with. Standing behind an advertisement board carrying all his medical credentials, he goes on to give a sermon about his magical abilities to cure. Without any clue regarding the contents of his treatment regimes, he proclaims to heal everything that brings worry to us. Health authorities and medical council of the country seems to se

Remembring the good old days when I had nokia 8310..... was my 3rd July 2011 facebook status update. The comments and rappels that followed made me write this post, perhaps to preserve these precious memories. I remember the days of Government College Sargodha when my only tele-communication with the world was through the landline telephone which was installed at the reception of the hostel. Apart from that, I used to have exchange of hand written letters with a couple of friends. I carried letter writing into my next phase of life, the medical college. In the period between the two, my mailing address used to be Syed and Sons Sillanwali. It was the same Government College Sargodha where I saw a cellular phone for the first time, with my friend Asad. I remember how naïve I was about its mechanism of working and functional limitations.  In medical college, Saudi students with mobile phones were so well known that one of them got a title "mobile guy" on our first class functi

Shahid Khan Afridi has announced conditioned retirement from international cricket. He is unhappy with the treatment that he has been given as captain. He has every reason to feel angry as his performance as a captain has been more than expected. Although not an extraordinary manipulator of the game, luck had been on his side in one day internationals recently. He has led the team with passion and that speaks volumes about his leadership skills. As far as intelligent strategic moves are concerned once team lands in the ground to play, I wouldn’t rate him as one of the best captains of Pakistan. But still he has been making us feel proud, happy and sometimes furious at him with crickentainment over the years. Alas, he has met the same fate as many of our heroes did previously. But, is that the end? I think NO. Afridi is kind of a person who has always listened to his heart. I believe his career is far from over. There are no quick chances of a reshuffle in Pakistan Cricket Board as th

Conspiracy theorie s aside, OBL is dead now. A chapter closed in history of the world. Keeping indifference to his good qualities or bad characteristics, he was the one who remained America’s most wanted person for nearly a decade. Perhaps the biggest operation in history of the world was carried out for his hunt. And more than that, thousands of people were killed, virtually thousands of innocent people, accounting for his deeds. Some dies in collateral damage in pursuit to get him, others killed by his fellows because they seemed to have deviated from the right path. Both categories include men women and children. People of Abbotabad found it funny to come to know that world’s most wanted man was living just on their doorstep. Some might have regretted not to have attempted to capture him as he carried biggest head bounty in the recent times. Others remained indifferent as public in our country is custom made not to believe what is told in official statements. Although it has been r

To many it is not even a news. Two well known comedians of Pakistan passed away this month. Although both of them focused on Punjabi stage plays based in Lahore, however, they earned quite some audience in the whole country by their performance on national television as well as in Urdu films. Well, everyone had to die someday. And it was their turn this time. That cannot be argued with. But the circumstances that they faced were really scary, and in one way, a reflection of where we are heading as a society. In addition to their  memorable performances on national television and films, I, being native to the language dialect that was not very far from the one spoken on stage, had known both of them since long, although just as a fan. Immensely talented and spontaneous, they were born artists. Live performance on stage used to bring the stage alive. Jugat bazi, the essence of Punjabi stage play, is actually a very well known local tradition. People talk to each other mentioning things

Dear Syed Talat HUSSAIN Morality is a relative term. Being kind can be relative to other people’s behavior. Doctors going on strike looks like ridiculous. But if seen in a context, it might look a bit more than that. Let’s have a closer look. The strike call by young doctors might look like an over-reacted even to many but the fact is that it has been brewing up for quite some time. Since nobody paid attention to it, it has resulted in an anarchic situation where doctors have gone on strike and people are suffering or dying unattended. Following points are stated for your kind attention. Health system, as you noted in your discussion other day, is one of the most neglected sector in terms of financial and administrative terms, in whole of the country. On one side, it look like a department which is not funded properly. On the other side, which might not be visible to many, is that it has virtually collapsed under the rush of patients that visit the existing health care faciliti

Next general elections are no more out of sight in Pakistan. One and the only clean politician and famous philanthropist in our country, Imran Khan, needs to move the masses. This is high time for him to appear on national scene as a true alternative. Thanks to his naïve ways of politics, he seems far away from sweeping the national election this time. But that can be made possible if he listens to some advice. 1. The impact of internet, especially social networks like Facebook and Twitter has shown its potential in last US presidential election as well as recent Middle East uprisings of Tunisia, Egypt and others. Imran Khan must come in close touch with the youth through Twitter and Facebook where he can convey his message in real time and gather feedback. 2. A talent hunt for candidates should be started now. Or if he has already chosen few people, they should be announced now. They should be asked to appear on their respective constituency’s skyline and should try to convey Imran

In the age of twitter and facebook, witnessing a regime change in Egypt looked quite awesome. In fact I was quite lost into its final hours, stuck to live transmissions of BBC and Aljazeera, following people tweeting live from Tahrir Square and reading Cyril Almeida’s nice analysis in Dawn on regular basis. The history unfolded before my wide open eyes. It was unbelievable. Although I expected bloodshed many times in the last week, I kept my hopes high and wished the people a win.  More so because it was a led by Egyptian youth, using the social network forums to organize protest against the sitting president. Although Hosni Mubarak had been a favorite of Europe and US, he could no longer keep his hold on the government and had to surrender to the will of masses. Internet has started bringing meanings to people’s lives and now we can expect almost anything happening anywhere in the world. So is the potential of this technology. For a true democracy in Egypt, there is a long way to go.

The killing of three people by an American citizen in capital city of Punjab, Pakistan is indeed a shocking incident. The man in question alleged that he acted in self defense and the guys were decoits who wanted to rob him of the freshly withdrawn money from an ATM.  However, the postmortem examination report belies his saying by stating that the killed were fired upon from behind. Revelations of the use of forbidden bullets and an allegedly weapon without a valid license has further complicated the situation.  Equally shocking is the demand by American embassy for his immediate release, saying that he enjoys the diplomatic immunity. According to the newspapers, however, he is on a business visa and was not there on a diplomatic duty neither did he had a diplomatic escort with him. So, what was he doing there? Complicated, isn’t it? How far will it go? Pakistan has so far shrugged off any request (read: pressure) for his immediate release. And it would be quite unwise even if the gov

Keeping a balance between ideals, hopes and ground realities, a beautiful 2011 can be like this. Peace and Democracy in Tunisia and rest of Middle East Advances in Palestine Israel peace process Good performance of Pakistan in ICC world cup 2011 Resumption of International Cricket in Pakistan Start of withdrawal of western forces from Afghanistan End to extrajudicial killings by American drone attacks in Pakistan Break in the recent wave of terrorism inside Pakistan Break in ongoing inflation in Pakistan Successful rehabilitation of flood affectees in Pakistan No more events of killings of civillians all around the world Resumption of HEC Foreign Scholarships Resumption of peace process between Pakistan and India International honors for my researcher friends Publishing results of my first experiment :)          and last but not the least My family's visit of France this summer :) Addition in the form of comments will be appreciated.

Theoretically speaking, a generation spans over 30 years. So if we take the moment of the making of Pakistan as middle of the then generation, the first generation lasted till 1962, overshadowed by the opportunist element taking over the state. Second generation (1962-1992) is highlighted by 1964 and 1971 wars with India, fall of Dhaka, Bhutto’s judicial murder and General Zia’s version of Islam and Jihad. Summary of the third generation can be attaining a nuclear state status, 9/11, Musharraf’s enlightened moderation and lately the fallout of US led war on terror against Taliban. They are the ones who led Pakistan into new century. Like third generation of antibiotics, present Pakistanis are different from their predecessors in many respects. They are numerous, poorer, divided, intolerant, superstitious, frustrated, pretentious and isolated in comparison to the previous generations. I might have missed the achievements of this generation here but there is a reason for that t